SAN FRANCISCO — The comeback was controlled chaos, a burst of noise growing louder with each of Angel Pagan's strides toward the plate.

The best-case scenario for the Rockies when the fastball left Pagan's bat was a tie as Brandon Crawford scored easily. But the reel kept unspooling, Pagan kept running, third-base coach Tim Flannery kept frantically waving his arms.

"It never crossed my mind that they were going to send him," Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said. "Until I turned around ..."

And there was Pagan hustling like his hair was on fire, the 192nd consecutive sellout crowd screaming in jubilation. Dexter Fowler retrieved the ball that ricocheted high off the right-center field wall and fired to DJ LeMahieu, whose relay left the Rockies victims of history in a 6-5 loss at AT&T Park.

Marco Scutaro points to Angel Pagan as Pagen slides in to home plate for a walk-off inside-the-park home run to beat the Colorado Rockies in ten innings at AT&T Park. More photos. (Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

It's not hard to project significance onto this. It was Major League Baseball's first inside-the-park, walk-off home run since June 11, 2004 — by the Rays against the Rockies' Shawn Chacon — and the Giants' first in San Francisco.

Bill Terry was the last Giant to pull off the feat, in 1931 at the Polo Grounds in New York, eloquently explaining why Saturday was equally remarkable and painful.

"I have to thank the crowd. They pushed me to home plate," Pagan said.

There was a sense of justice for the Giants, victims of two bad calls by plate umpire Angel Marquez, and disbelief for the Rockies, who squandered a four-run lead and Troy Tulowitzki's go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th.

Closer Rafael Betancourt, for the first time in a Rockies uniform, declined comment, the bitter disappointment filling his eyes as he whispered "not today" to reporters.

Rockies trainer Keith Dugger said Betancourt's strained right groin, which caused him to leave Tuesday's game, was not an issue in his first blown save of the season.

"You feel bad anytime that happens," Tulowitzki said. "It would be different if we hadn't won (Friday). It hurts. But we still have a chance to win a series (Sunday), and that hasn't happened a lot here for this organization."

Manager Walt Weiss didn't belabor the issue or show any signs of anger. Players love that he never panics, so his measured response to the heart-in-a-blender loss while placid, seemed appropriate. Perspective comes from a wider prism. The loss was awful, but the Rockies are 27-22, matching their best-ever start through 49 games.

Tulowitzki initially capitalized on Marquez's mistakes by mashing his 10th home run off Giants closer Sergio Romo, making an 84-mph cut fastball disappear into the left-field seats. Gonzalez earlier delivered his 13th, one shy of the National League lead, becoming the first Rockies player to register a splash hit in McCovey Cove.

Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies hits a home run in the tenth inning of their game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on May 25, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif. More photos. (Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

By the sixth, the Rockies were in position to win their fifth straight against the Giants, tying a franchise best. And then they weren't. Adam Ottavino had to strike out Pablo Sandoval with bases loaded to preserve a 4-3 lead.

That's when things got weird.

A National League cage match turned into an ump show, with the Rockies the benefactors of a pair of gaffes. With the infield drawn in the seventh, LeMahieu threw out Brandon Belt at the plate. Or at least that was the call.

Belt slid under the tag, but Marquez missed it. His next mistake left him feeling a wrath normally reserved for a Dodgers player. In the eighth, Marco Scutaro tried to advance to third on Pablo Sandoval's bloop to Gonzalez. Gonzalez fired a strike to Nolan Arenado, whose sweeping tag missed Scutaro. Marquez hustled to third with the base umpire going toward the outfield to determine if a catch was made. He called Scutaro out.

"I thought I might have skinned his jersey. I wasn't sure. I wasn't going to go back, or it would have looked obvious," Arenado said.

Still fuming from the play at the plate, Giants manager Bruce Bochy received the thumb, his ejection greeted by a standing ovation.

The loudest cheers, however, were reserved for Pagan after his derby around the bases.

"I've never seen that before," Bochy said. "I wish I could have been out there."

Jon Garland needs improvement. Like Jeff Francis and Juan Nicasio before him, the right-hander is tight-roping his rotation spot. After providing caulking for the staff in April, Garland has embarked on a clumsy run. He owns a 1-3 record with a 6.00 ERA this month. He has allowed 32 hits in 21 innings. Sinkerballers live dangerously because the ball is constantly in play. But a .352 batting average against isn't going to work. Matt Cain, after a rugged start, has won his last three starts. He is 16-7 with a 3.29 ERA against the Rockies in 29 games.

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.